NFL could move draft out of New York in 2015

May 7, 2014
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NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. / John Raoux, AP

by Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY

by Lorenzo Reyes, USA TODAY

NEW YORK - The 2015 NFL draft may take place somewhere other than New York.

"We want to share the draft experience with as many of these communities as possible," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday. "We've had a lot of interest in Chicago and Los Angeles and other markets, by the way, from all the way up to the mayor and on down. And we know fans would love to have the experience.

"We've had a great experience here in New York, and we may still have a presence here in some fashion. Those are some of the things we're evaluating."

Speaking at a pre-draft event, Goodell indicated league executives had a conference call on alternative sites later in the day and anticipated that a decision on the location of next year's draft would come later this year.

The biggest impediments to keeping the draft in New York are scheduling conflicts with Radio City Music Hall. It's being held two weeks later than usual this year because of prior commitments at the venue, and there's no guarantees for its availability in 2015.

The next step in the process could be for alternate cities to make bids for the draft in a process similar to courting the Super Bowl.

"Right now, what I think we'll probably do is hand-pick our solution for next year," Goodell said. "At some point in time, we may get to that stage.

"But again, we want to balance the experience we've had here in Radio City, and we want to evaluate how this works for our clubs. We talked to the players this morning about the extra two weeks. The anxiety for players and clubs, it's pretty significant. They want to get started."

Another potential draft destination is the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which is located in Canton, Ohio.

"We've talked to them about it," Goodell said. "I'm not sure there are too many possibilities we haven't talked about. We always look to see how we can make it bigger and better, and fortunately we've been able to do that, and we're not going to stop."

There have been mixed reactions to the draft's later date this year, and Goodell said he has sought feedback from various sources. He said some coaches feel the later timeframe is a better fit with offseason workout programs and has helped teams narrow their draft strategy.

"There are pluses and minuses to it," Goodell said. "As a matter of fact, when I was meeting with the players this morning, one of the players raised a real good issue. He said: 'One thing it gave me the chance was to finish my degree.' So the later timeframe is actually beneficial in some ways.

"It's obviously an anxious time for the players, for the teams and for the fans. Everyone wants to get moving."